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buffoon

American  
[buh-foon] / bəˈfun /

noun

  1. a person who amuses others by tricks, jokes, odd gestures and postures, etc.

    Synonyms:
    fool, clown, jester

  2. a person given to coarse or undignified joking.

    Synonyms:
    boor

  3. a silly or foolish person.

    He has been shown to be a pompous, incompetent buffoon.
buffoon British  
/ bəˈfuːn /

noun

  1. a person who amuses others by ridiculous or odd behaviour, jokes, etc

  2. a foolish person

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • buffoonery noun
  • buffoonish adjective

Etymology

Origin of buffoon

First recorded in 1540–50; earlier buffon, from French, from Italian buffone, equivalent to buff- (expressive form; compare buffa “puff of breath,” buffare “to puff, puff up one's cheeks”) + -one agent suffix, ultimately from Latin -ōnem, accusative of nominative noun suffix -ō

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.